Pessoa's Geometry of the Abyss: Modernity and the Book of Disquiet

"Fernando Pessoa wrote prolifically in many genres until his untimely death in 1935, and he has long been widely recognized as Portugal's most influential twentieth century writer. The publication of the Book of Disquiet in 1982, however, caused a seismic change in the appreciation of his work and its place in Modernism. In that great and vast collection of fragments, Pessoa firmly established his place among the canon of European modernists and radically questioned many of Modernity's assumptions. Alain Badiou, for example, has argued that philosophers are not yet able to assimilate Pessoa's thinking. Paulo de Medeiros's new study, one of the first to be dedicated to the Book of Disquiet, takes up that challenge, exploring the text's connections with photography, film, politics and textuality itself, and developing comparisons with D. H. Lawrence, Walter Benjamin, and Franz Kafka."

O Silêncio das sereias (Ensaio sobre o Livro do Desasossego)

This study offers a new reading of Fernando Pessoa's Book of Disquiet, one of his most important works. Paulo de Medeiros, Professor of English & Comparative Literature at the University of Warwick, points out various ways to read Pessoa as one of the leading Modernist writers such as Kafka and Benjamin. The book draws from a number of theoretical perspectives, referring to established Pessoa scholarship and also to critical thinkers such as Jacques Rancière and Alain Badiou in a comparative perspective. Some of the questions addressed in detail concern spectrality, politics, and sexuality. The Silence of the Sirens constitutes a key essay for anyone engaging with Pessoa's work, and was awarded the PEN Portugal prize for best book of essays in 2016.

Postcolonial Theory And Lusophone Literatures

Postcolonial Theory and Lusophone Literatures (2007) is a pioneering collection of twelve essays by noted senior scholars and younger ones that provides an initial critical reflection of different ways of approaching literatures written in Portuguese from a postcolonial perspective. The various essays draw on a common struggle against various forms of colonialism and neo-colonialism, while exploring discreet and concrete cases taken from Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, and East Timor.

Contemporary Lusophone African Film: Transnational Communities and Alternative Modernities

"Offering a range of critical perspectives on a vibrant body of films, this collection of essays engages with questions specific to the various cinemas and films addressed while putting forward an argument for their inclusion in current debates on world cinema. The collection brings together 11 chapters by recognized scholars, who analyze a variety of films and videos from Angola, Cape Verde, Guiné-Bissau, and Mozambique. It also includes an interview with Pedro Pimenta, one of the most distinguished African film festival organizers. Drawing on various theoretical perspectives, the volume strives to reverse the relative invisibility that has afflicted these cinemas, arguing that most, if not all, Lusophone films are transnational in all aspects of production, acting, and reception. The initial three chapters sketch broad, comparative overviews and suggest theoretical approaches, while the ensuing chapters focus on specific case studies and discuss a number of key issues such as the convergence of film with politics, the question of gender and violence, as well as the revisiting of the period immediately following independence. Attention is given to fiction, documentary films and recent, short, alternative video productions that are overlooked by more traditional channels. The book stresses the need to pay attention to the significance of African film, and Lusophone African film in particular, within the developing field of world cinema. Bringing together general overviews, historical considerations, detailed case studies, and focused theoretical reflections, this book is a significant volume for students and researchers in film studies, especially African, Lusophone cultural studies, and world cinema."

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